Our hills, meadows and woodlands are filled with amazing wildlife and flora. The significant diversity in our natural landscapes and our rich mining history have both contributed to providing the right habitats for a range of species. From the elusive dormouse through to the dark green fritillary or from the magnificent bluebells through to the encrusted mats of Cladonia lichens, there is always something amazing to see or to discover.
Helping nature can start at home
There is a lot you can do to help the wildlife and flora in our county borough. If you are fortunate enough to have a garden, simple things like putting up bird boxes, leaving the grass to grow longer in some parts of the garden to be cut and collected later on in the season, piling up logs for hedgehogs and even drilling holes in them to create nesting habitats for invertebrates are all things which can be easily done and do not take much time or money. You could then visit these areas of your garden and awe at what you will discover living, nesting and feeding just outside your door.
If you do not have a garden, you can take part in litter picking activities nearby, monitor some of the wildlife when you are out and about and tell us what you see; or help us remove invasive species such as Himalayan Balsam from our countryside by simply pulling it up from the roots once it is in flower.
What else could I do?
There are many local and national events which you could get involved in some of which are listed under our Events page. You could even volunteer with us and take part in our ‘Grab Your Rake’ campaign.
If you are interested in doing practical conservation work, you could also join our RCT Local Nature Partnership and find out more about what some of our local volunteer groups are up to in your area.